This invention relates in general to apparatus for loading cartridges into weapons, and more particularly to a device for facilitating the speed loading of shells into a shotgun.
In certain classes of firearms, mechanical devices have been deigned to facilitate rapid loading of multiple cartridges. While such devices have been generally successful for revolvers and rifles, little attention has been directed to enabling the speed loading of shotguns. Speed loading of shotguns is highly desireable, particularly in competitions where overall time for both loading of the weapon and firing a specified number of rounds is a significant factor. Additionally, speed loading of shotguns for law enforcement personnel, who have been adopting shotguns as the major weapon of choice, is of critical importance for both effective execution of their duties and their own personal saftey.
Today one of the only mechanical devices for facilitating the speed loading of shotguns is a flexible, shell retaining tube shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,284 (issued Apr. 9, 1985 in the name of Naber). The tube of this patent is aligned with the shotgun magazine and a plunger is moved to expand the tube and force the shells into the magazine. However, this device is hard to manipulate to align the tube with the magazine during its loading function, which often results in its malfunctioning.